


The Path of Redemption

by Soulstrifer



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy - All Media Types, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Ending, F/M, Fix-It, M/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2018-11-19 15:05:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11315904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soulstrifer/pseuds/Soulstrifer
Summary: For every death, there is life. But, what happens when your name wasn't supposed to come up? Death works in mysterious ways, and she's found respect in a dead mans final actions. When his name wasn't on her list, she decided to give him a second chance. Yondu Udonta is about to be faced with a long, arduous path. With Lady Death as his personal sponsor, he's got to tread lightly if he plans to find his way.





	1. Death's Gift

Death was easier than he’d expected. He supposed that being at peace had a lot to do with it. When he had messed up more than he didn’t, dying for someone you loved was a lot easier than living with regrets. Yondu Udonta had left his mark. Not a bad way to be remembered. Of course, in the unpredictable vacuum of space, sometimes strange things happened.  
Take for example, the fact that, though he had been set to stardust, Udonta was contemplating the nature of his own death. Or perhaps even the fact that he could feel warmth on his face. Anywhere else, these things might have been unusual. But the Universe? Well, she had other plans. 

Now, as such things go, he had little control over just where it was she was taking him. Nor did he honestly know she was taking him anywhere, but a body moves far easier as stardust than it does a whole. Past the death and rebirth of planets. Through starlight and darkness. Beyond what it meant to be living, and what it was to be dead. She carried him, against the drag of time. One last chance. One last moment. Why? Well there would never be any way of knowing, but that was half the fun wasn't it? 

When he opened his eyes, he was nearly blinded by the blazing light of a sun. A single great burning ball in the sky over his head, framed by golden stalks edging into his line of sight. Had he not just been contemplating his own heroics, Yondu might have just chalked it up to a night of heavy drinking. It wouldn’t have been the first time he’d found himself sprawled in a strange location with a pounding headache. However, he did wake with a very clear memory of breathlessness and biting cold.

Besides that, his arrow was missing. The ground around him was littered with various items. Lilies, trinkets, ribbons and medals. His funeral rights. Honors. So he was dead? Then where was he now? It sure as hell wasn’t heaven, if you believed in that. 

So, if he had died and this was indeed the life after… what the hell did he do now? People always made it seem as though you actually had a damn clue.  
Ruby eyes squinted upward, and for the smallest moment he almost closed his them again. 

 

Everything was still. Not a breath of wind. He didn’t even hear anything. Not one sound. For a man most accustomed to the drone of engines it left an uneasy feeling in his chest. At least aboard the Eclector, he was surrounded by the sound of his ship. The men chattered and joked and laughed and fought. There was never just silence. This was the sort that would make your ears ring. Almost to the point he was sure that had he in fact been alive, he might have heard the flow of his own blood through his veins. Was that a dull ebb and flow he could make out? Or just the empty settle of nothing? 

“Do you have ANY idea how difficult it is to gather someone who’s been turned to dust?” A soft voice questioned. Yondu’s head turned to one side, a frown plastered immediately upon his face. Who the hell was that. “Honestly, it’s barbaric!” The female’s voice sounded irritated.  
“The hell d’yeh want from me? ‘M Dead!” The Azure male protested, blinking in an effort to see the hazy outline of the woman . Or what he could assume was a woman. Draped in a dark cloak that seemed to glitter with the depths of a black hole, the figure did not turn to face him.  
“ Do not /sass/ me,” She stated bluntly, “ Had it been any others choice you’d of remained /dead/ Yondu Udonta.”  
Even though the world around him focused up a little more, he still struggled to make her edges clear.  
“ You made a choice that you would not have in life before, and for that I’m allowing you a second chance. DO NOT squander this chance.” 

He was confused even more so than he had been before. Second Chance? What the hell did that mean!? Yondu grunted, trying to sit up but his body refused to cooperate. Instead he felt numb. Even wiggling his fingers seemed impossible. Actually, if he was being honest his whole body burned at the attempt of movement. The Centaurian fell flat against the ground again, features twisted. 

“ I did say I had to gather you from Star Dust, didn’t I?” She mused with a snort, “ It’s going to take a bit for your body to start working properly again. That’s what happens when you let them do that.”  
“ Ain’t got no damn idea what yer talkin about. Where the hell am I?” Yondu glared holes through the woman’s back. 

“Well you’re obviously set on being dead. So let’s call this your after life,” Sarcasm laced those words and he could almost see the sneer.  
“ What do yeh mean? Yer bein sarcastic.”  
“ Of course I am you stubborn man!” He could see her head shake through the loose folds of the hood, “ I told you. This is your second chance.”  
Everything was quiet again. Who the hell did she think she was? People didn’t just come back from the dead. That ain’t how this worked.  
“ You were not supposed to die, we had not even anticipated that you would show. And we technically only accounted for one death. We got that with Ego instead of Peter. To be fair it was a far greater exchange. I only get one or two of these every few lifetimes. Do not waste my efforts.”  
“Course I’d show. Couldn’t let that bastard just kill him now could I? Raised that boy with my own hands. Ain’t that much of a dick…” Yondu mumbled. 

That earned a chuckle.  
“ Live well Yondu Udonta, Make wise choices. We will meet again. I can only hope the next time it will be when you are ready.”  
With that, she flickered like a dying flame and disappeared. He was damn near more confused than he had been before!


	2. Get Back Up

Laying there in the dirt watching the golden tassels of the long grass sway in wake of her presence he found no answers. As much as he would have liked some epiphany to come to him, the Centaurian knew that he was only wasting precious time laying there. Now it was only a matter of actually moving. With his body numb it seemed like a daunting task. Taxing at best.   
Yondu grumbled to himself as he began to fuss a little. He managed to roll himself over onto his knees and sit upright. Wrong answer! 

Everything came to a blinding pinpoint of excruciating pain. It was like every fiber of every muscle chose that very moment to cramp. Almost enough to suck the air from his lungs. Actually he couldn’t breathe at all for a moment as his chest tightened to the point he thought he’d simply black out. The Ravager had only felt pain like that a few times in his life. When his crest had been cut away was one of them. At least that had been localized. So, he braced there against the brown soil.   
The muscle up his arms trembled and ticked as the cramp eased slightly. With jaw aching from being clenched, he tried again. A little at a time. Yondu finally managed to get his feet under him. Not without struggle or pain, but it was something. At least there was that. She could have warned him that he’d feel like he’d literally been ripped apart.

The Captain gathered the items that had scattered around him slowly, body sluggish. Tucking away his only possessions into his coat pockets he decided it might be wise to move. At the very least it would relax the stiffness in his muscles. 

Upon first glance, the planet reminded him of one he had taken Peter to as a boy. Golden fields stretched out before him and melted on the horizon into greens. That planet had two suns though. This one - so far as he could see- only had one. Being stuck somewhere unfamiliar wasn’t the most ideal situation. He supposed that there wasn’t much to complain about though. You know, not being dead was nice. 

One calloused blue palm brushed across the fox tail ends of the golden grass and he frowned. The first few steps were a little shaky. He moved a lot like a newborn . After stumbling around for a little bit, Yondu managed to set off. The ground was horrendously uneven, and that made travel all the more troublesome. It slowed his pace considerably and by the time he had reached the edge of the field the sun had nearly fallen beyond the line of the sky. All he wanted at that point though was a formal understanding of where he was. So he pressed on. 

By the time he found signs of life, the sun was gone and night had set it’s path across the sky. A small, boxy building with light spilling from squared windows. It was in that moment that he realized, quite suddenly, where he was. This was Terra. That realization made him hesitate. There would be no chance of blending in here. Well, not that he really could anywhere else either, but still. Terra was perhaps the worst place for him to be, just short of a Kree home-world. 

Before he could turn himself around and try to find the cloaked woman, a sudden rush of exhaustion fell over him. With it came an unfamiliar light headedness. Yondu stumbled, vision swimming dangerously. Losing consciousness right here, at this very spot, was going to get him put on an exam table. That didn’t seem to phase his body too much though. The world tilted and he canted forward as the ground rose up to meet him all too quickly. Then darkness took him. 

There was no definition in the turning of the dark. The Centaurian found nothing in the form of solidity. Only endless black. It reminded him of space though. Dark. Cold. Unending. He floated there with no perception of time. Not even memories to keep him company. Instead Yondu was left to consider all the possibilities of where he’d find himself when he woke. If he woke. Was that even an option? It would be one hell of a practical joke on Death’s part. Could he call that a cock tease? 

The most likely outcome though was far less pleasant. There were horror stories of Terra. It was part of the reason no one bothered with it any more really. Too much risk. No one wanted to end up under a knife. He sure as hell didn’t. As if being a Kree slave wasn’t bad enough, he didn’t need someone digging around in his insides. Already had more than his share of scars thanks.   
He did eventually wake. With all those thoughts turning circles in his mind, Yondu was just waiting to feel that bite of steel. Terrans could be ruthless and cruel. He didn’t think his Terran was cruel. Then again that could have been him playing favorites. Or maybe he’d just lucked out. Either way he was coming around fully expecting hell. Instead, he found himself resting in a bed. The room was quiet, and beyond a few little details here and there it seemed unused. At least he wasn’t in a cell.


	3. Space Man

Yondu’s attention lingered and the lazy turn of the fan overhead. So, someone had found him. Someone who obviously must have been blind or something. Why else wouldn’t he be bound to the bed or something? Beyond the door with its slant of light falling through a marginal crack, he could hear someone moving around. A gentle shuffle rather than heavy footfall. The floor creaked quietly as they moved down the hall and the Centaurian waited almost anxiously.   
When the slanted fall of light was obscured, the captain held his breath. 

She was preceded by that shaft of light broadening and casting across the bed where he lay. Pretty blue eyes and long blonde hair. There was something familiar in her face, but he struggled to place it. Yondu lay motionless, despite the fact that ruby eyes were memorizing her posture and expression.   
“ So you are alive.” Her voice carried a twang he’d never really heard, even thicker than Kraglins. Still dazed, the ruby eyed male tried to sort himself.   
“ Suppose you don’t speak English…” the woman pressed those pouty lips into a frown.   
Yondu may have been able to answer if he wasn’t entirely perplexed by her calm. This Terran acted as though she had found a regular man unconscious in her driveway. 

“Look mister,” the woman started, “ I don’t want any trouble. But you were in my drive and weren’t responsive”   
“ I speak Terran. “ The Centaurian managed, voice rough and graveled. He watched the smile bloom over her face.   
“Good! We can understand one another!” Pretty white teeth flashed his way briefly. It still baffled the Ravager Captain that she was so happy to have a stranger in her house. Injured or not. He frowned at that thought.   
“ Yah don’t seem too concerned bout the way I look…” Yondu accused.   
The blonde pursed her lips at him again. “ You ain’t from here, but you still needed help.” 

He nodded. There was a lot he needed. Help covered most of them.   
“So long as you ain’t goin to hurt me, then I can help,” The Terran female still hadn’t moved from the doorway as though she were ready to make a break for it. She watched him with keen blue eyes though.   
“ How’d yah know I wouldn’t hurt yah?” Yondu lifted his brow and his head tilted slightly to one side. Her teeth flashed at him yet again, “ Can’t hurt anything when you’re unconscious.”   
“ Alright, Spoke yah dragged me in here on yer own then.” It was a statement more than it was a question as she came further into the room finally. The blonde just winked at him.   
“ A magician never tells their secrets,” She told him as she strode with confidence across the room. 

The crimson eyed man watched as she dipped her hand into a bowl near the bedside. The sound of water dribbling back on itself only reminded him how dry his throat was.   
“ You were burnin' up somethin' fierce. Mumblin’ and shakin’.”   
Udonta did his absolute best not to flinch when she pressed that cool, wet cloth against his brow. It soothed the pounding in his head just enough.   
“ Pretty sure I’m ‘sposed tah be dead,” he grunted.   
“Well sir,” a frown turned the corners of her mouth down, “ I think you’re very much alive.”

Another long quiet set between them. Crimson eyes followed her movement as she cleaned away sweat from his neck and face. The cloth was dipped in the cool liquid, squeezed out, and she folded it against his brow. Pale locks fell across her shoulder and she insistently pushed them back again as she fussed. After a good stretch of time had passed, she spoke again.   
“ Do you have a name? Or am I just calling you Space man?”   
“ Yondu Udonta…”   
Rising, the woman glanced down at him again with that cool gaze, the bowl of water now tucked against her hip under one arm.   
“ Well Mister Udonta, I don’t know where you came from but you’re welcome to stay till you’re back on your feet. You can call me Meredith.”   
That name struck a chord in him and Yondu found himself distracted. Meredith slipped away and out the door without so much as another word. 

The soft done of the fan overhead turning didn’t do much to quiet the sound of her moving around somewhere beyond the closed door. Meredith. He knew that name. But knowing that name didn’t make a lick of sense, seeing as the person that name belonged to was long gone. Udonta groaned quietly and lifted his heavy hand to cover his eyes as his head spun. At least this time the Centaurian didn’t pass out! That was an achievement to be sure.   
Quills mother was named Meredith. Of course he could assume there were thousands of Merediths on this planet. It just felt a bit too strange to let the subject. Maybe he really was dead. That begged the question though, would he of earned his place in that afterlife? Not likely. Yondu lay there with his own thoughts until he simply couldn’t take it any more. Swinging his legs over the bed he grumbled to himself. Everything felt as though it were weighed down. Clumsy. Even so, the Ravager knew he needed to move, less his body go stiff once more. 

A fight to the door had him walking at least halfway normal, and when it came open, he was assaulted by the smell of something that made his stomach growl. Now or never. Taking a breath to prepare himself for what he could only imagine might be an awkward situation, Yondu started down the hall.


	4. Answers and Pancakes

The house was small, but it was warm and smelled pleasantly of food. Nothing like the Eclector. Almost the direct opposite. The ship was usually cold besides the bunks and the engine room. And it smelled most often of metal and oil. Occasionally Tullk burned something that made it smell like a monk’s temple in places but it still wasn’t like this. 

There were photos on the walls. The woman and her family. As he examined them he found no hints of a child. No Ego. It seemed a little strange. In one there was a man that did not seem to quite fit in but he put that to the back of his mind as he finally made the room where she lingered. Yondu paused in the doorway, if only to observe her for a quiet moment. She was almost dancing across the floor, humming a tune he’d heard from Peter on more than one occasion. 

After a few moments, he cleared his throat a little to tell her he was there. Meredith turned her attention towards him if only for a moment. The Captain watched that grin curl over her features again.   
“ So mister Yondu,” She made a motion towards the table where he could sit, “ How did you get here?”   
His mouth pulled into a hard line as he thought about what to say. It wasn’t like he knew exactly what had happened. He was dead one moment and waking up here the next. It seemed a rather perplexing scenario. The Terran waited expectantly. 

“ Don’t know…” He finally relented. He really didn’t. “One minute I’m sayin goodbye teh my boy, the next I’m here…” Yondu made a vague motion around himself, his frown only growing deeper.   
“ You have a son?” that seemed to perk her up a bit.   
Nodding, he intoned, “ well, adopted in a way. Still loved him like mine. ‘S name is Peter…”  
The name was dropped between them almost casually. Something that would get a rise from her maybe. He was looking for answers without being obvious. Ruby eyes watched her quietly.   
“ Always like the name Peter. I used to dream about naming my son that,” Her smile had grown but at the same time it seemed almost to have weakened.   
He could only hum. 

“ And why aren’t yeh freakin out over an alien in yer home?” Yondu tilted his head a little.   
“ Simple. You aren’t the first one I’ve met.”   
That took him by surprise. There was no signs of Ego having ever been here. Was he wrong? Her statement about the name told him that Peter wasn’t born yet, maybe not even conceived. So was this stranger Ego? Before he could inquire further, she answered his unspoken question. 

“ His name was Json. Looked nothing like you. Pretty human actually. But he fell from the stars. A ruler on a planet called Spartax.” A dreamy look passed over her features. “He left without warning. That was ages ago. I’m sure he had something important to take care of. I can’t imagine a king would be able to spend much time away from his throne,” She mumbled and paused at the stove. Meredith seemed to lose herself for a moment. Somewhere in there she was chasing memories. Fleeting images that left light trail in their wake and blinked across the expanse of her mind like fireflies.

Yondu observed the small crease of her brow and the way the corners of her mouth twitched downward. Emotion played so delicately on her pretty face. Peter got that from her, at least he did when he was younger. He’d learned a pretty good poker face over the years. Meredith shook herself out of it when she realized she was still cooking. The pan had begun to sizzle against the stove top. She said nothing, fussing for a long moment to pour batter into the heated pan. Yondu was content to just watch her. 

“I’m sorry,” She mumbled quietly, “ I get so frustrated.”   
“ Don’t be,” Yondu shrugged a little bit. Meredith put a smile on for him and soon she carried over a plate with a small stack of pancakes.   
“ It’s not much, but I’m sure you’re hungry.” A glass container of syrup was placed down on the table as well. The Terran woman shuffled back to the stove to take up the last two onto her own plate before coming to join him at the table. 

The Centaurian couldn’t help his perplexed expression. Not Ego. That was a relief. Well, he supposed he was lucky to have ended up in her field. What were the chances? Almost as though it had been done on purpose. Was this even the same woman? If it was, then what was this place? For every answer he got, three more come up in its place. It was near infuriating. 

Terran food was a weakness. Especially pancakes. Peter used to demand them. It had taken them a while to find how to make them but it was enough to keep the boy happy. Yondu wouldn’t have admitted it then, but he liked them too. So when she sat herself down, the Centaurian smothered the fluffy cakes in syrup and dug in. At least the food made sense. Now he just had to figure out how to make everything else make sense too.


	5. Stranger Danger

Yondu didn’t exactly have the best table manners. It wasn’t really a big deal when you lived on a ship full of half wild pirates. No one really gave a damn how you ate so long as you didn’t touch their food. They ate in silence, relatively comfortable to just mind their own. At least until she decided she wanted more answers.   
“ You don’t remember how you got here?” her question drew him out of his own thoughts.  
Meredith had put her plate in the sink and was once more moving across the kitchen towards him. 

“ I meant it when I said I’m ‘sposed to be dead…” the captain relented, “ yah don’t survive that long in the vacuum…” If they got you in time, sure. Peter had proven that, like an idiot. The unfortunate memory of his most loyal crew being sent out the airlocks was almost enough to make him cringe.   
“ Vacuum?” the Terran woman frowned in confusion.   
“ “We blew up a …” A Planet. But you couldn’t just say you blew up a planet! He didn’t want her thinking that he’d gone and just destroyed a planet with life on it or anything! It wasn’t like that.   
“ We blew up a base where a real bad guy did unspeakable things,” he glanced away, “ I gave my boy the only suit…” 

He didn’t know how long it had been, or if time was even passing the same here as it did there. Yondu didn’t think it mattered. He wasn’t part of that universe any more, or whatever you wanted to call it. The captain watched the expression of contemplation settle in, then her face lit with realization. “ You sacrificed yourself for your son?”   
He nodded quietly. Putting it that way made him feel weird. It had been the right thing to do. It wasn’t like he hadn’t lived a full life. The Centaurian would say he’d lived a pretty damn good life. It would have made an interesting book. In the end, every choice he’d made had been for Peter. That’s what it meant to be a father.   
“ A very honorable thing to do,” she hummed softly, “ Someone must be looking out for you…” The extended pause made him drift again into the hazy tangle of his own thoughts, but thankfully it didn’t last too long. 

“ Now, how did you get here?”   
The Ravager lifted his shoulders. That, he was still working out for himself. “Some lady in a cloak said it was a second chance. But I don’t think things are the same here.” Couldn’t be. She’d been with a man named Json. Not Ego. There was no child in the picture. Surely her name was merely a coincidence.   
After a moment's hesitation he glanced up at her, “ yer last name ain’t Quill, is it?”   
Now, there were a whole number of reactions she could have had. He’d guess that maybe she’d start asking if he knew this Json fellow. There were a few other reactions his mind played out for him too and none of them were particularly pleasing.   
She withdrew a little bit. That reaction was enough to answer his question. 

Yondu let out a slow breath. So there were parallels but it wasn’t exact. Weird. That friendly look was gone. The Centaurian stood slowly, trying to appear nonthreatening, “ I’ll figure my way out of here.”   
Meredith moved away as he left the room. Damn it. Going out to yell at the cloaked mirage of a woman from earlier probably would not help his cause. So, the Ravager took himself to the room he’d woken in hoping that he might puzzle up some sort of answers. Anywhere that he wasn’t bothering was good. Mostly. Yondu just hoped she didn’t come up the steps with a gun or something. He didn’t have his Yaka to protect him here. That thought made him shiver. 

There had never been a moment in his life that he'd been without the gold arrow. He'd been sure to keep it close at all points in time after Stakar had offered it over to him. It had been his prize. A mark of his survival. The one piece that had come off that Kree ship that would never belong to anyone else. His last tie to a people he would never know. He supposed it was better than nothing. Yondu could get by with that. The Yaka arrow had become his signature. He was feared because of it. Years of use and reputation. Now? Just thinking about the fact that it wasn't in it's place at his side or even hanging behind the door, Yondu grew uneasy. Not defenseless. But almost naked. 

It was the next day that she made an appearance. Late in the afternoon. Her blue eyes were filled with determination. The Centaurian startled when the door snapped open, she strode in, and it bounced shut behind her. “ You’re going to explain yourself.”   
It wasn’t a question.   
“ Yeh ain’t gonna lie it…” he sat up a bit.   
“ I don’t care! You’re a stranger in my house I’ve never met, and you know me. I can see it in your face,” Meredith stated sharply.  
“I don’t know yah. I know of yah,” Yondu corrected and she gave a sound of frustration.   
“You share that name with the man I gave my life for,” he grunted bluntly.   
Blonde hair swung about her shoulders a bit as she shook her head, “ don’t lie! I don’t know anyone named Peter!”   
“ I raised that boy fer damn near twenty two years! I know who I’m talkin about!” He snapped, “ and in all those years he ain’t never shut up ‘bout his mama. Meredith Quill.” The woman faltered a little. Her brow was furrowed over those blue eyes that reminded him of Peters.   
“ Now sit down. This could take a while,” One blue nailed finger pointed to a nearby chair. Meredith obliged, slowly taking the seat he had indicated.


	6. The Story of A Boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> // Content warning: mention of some hard things so Im gonna go ahead and offer a TW here. Mention of Miscarriage

Yondu started from the beginning. He told her about the guy who’d come looking for good help. He told her about the job. The little details like how Ego had made it seem like he just wanted to do the right thing. Everything. Given, Yondu knew it would leave him subject to her judgment, but it didn’t matter. None of it did any more. Ego was dead, and Peter was safe. That was all that mattered. He told her about Peter. That was a subject filled with love. From the death of his mother to finding out what was happening 

He could remember vividly clear the remains. Yondu remembered being able to recognize those that had not fully begun to decompose. It had made him sick. More than that it had made him so damn mad. Deciding to lie to Ego about having Peter was a no brainer. The Centaurian after all didn’t take kindly to being lied to either. Not to mention it had cost him his place among the Ravagers.   
All the hell that the boy had put him through. All the moments Yondu had wanted to just drop the kid off on a planet and wish him luck. All the moments that made it worth it. 

Thinking back on it, the Captain would miss having the idgit come crawling into his lap while he sat on the bridge. Carrying the boy through the ship after a particularly taxing job. Even just listening to him talk to the others in the mornings while they sat around the lounge having breakfast. To some extent, Yondu had liked playing the role of Dad. Probably more than he should have. Sure it came with a lot of sleepless nights and worry but it was worth it to see Peter thriving as best he could in the chaos that he lived in now. 

It made Yondu proud. Would he do it again? Yeah. Probably. Even knowing how it would turn out. The Centaurian told her all about Ego. How he’d used others of any species to reproduce, how he’d killed them. He told her about how Ego had been the one that led to Peter’s mother passing away, and ultimately why Peter had ended up in his care. He told her how Peter fought him in the end for her, and how he himself had been ready to go so the boy could live.   
“ I ain’t pretendin’ tah be a good guy… I ain’t done a lot good…” The Ravager shook his head, “ But that is the entirety of it. The truth.” 

Meredith sat quietly for a long moment. He could tell that she was trying to properly decide if what he said was honest. It wasn’t like he had anything to lose here. She was already mad at him and it wasn’t like this was his world. Right? Yondu didn’t care if she believed him or not. He knew what had happened and that was enough. 

“ You took my son, from another universe?O time… dimension? However that works…” She finally spoke.   
“ I did.”   
“ You took him with intentions of taking him to this Ego guy, who was his father.”   
Yondu nodded his head a little,“ I found out what was happenin after I’d picked him up. Also found out I wasn’t the only one lookin.”   
“ That’s why you didn’t take him back to my father?” Her face scrunched a bit.   
“ Couldn’t risk someone takin him. Besides I liked the kid,” Yondu admitted almost sheepishly. She was battling some internal dilemma. The captain knew things like inter-dimensional travel was a complex subject to try to understand, hell even he wasn’t sure he understood. 

Her emotions ranged across her face for a quiet second, and Yondu could almost taste them at the back of his tongue. All at once those other emotions fell away and a sense of long buried ache surfaced.   
“ I lost a child after Json left…” she finally told him, voice pinched a little. “ A boy. I was going to call him Peter-”   
“ Jason Quill,” Yondu finished for her with a small understanding nod. He understood now why there was no child in this world. He had not survived. Yondu knew he should have offered some form of comfort or even condolences but it wasn’t something he was particularly good at. Even seeing her eyes well with tears made him feel uneasy. He hadn’t meant for that to happen. 

It was hard for the Ravager to fully understand what it must have been like. To lose your child and then find that that child lived on in another dimension somewhere. That your child was healthy and causing trouble. It most certainly had to be difficult to swallow. Still, she seemed to be swallowing these facts down as simply as she could manage. Meredith was a strong willed woman. Independent and steadfast. Even what he knew of her from Peter told him that much. The blue skinned Ravager could have only begun to wonder what meeting her would have been like. He was almost certain she’d of scolded him for half the things he let Peter do. 

Meredith moved closer to him, scooting the chair with a scrape across the hardwood floor. Her palms pressed against the seat and she leaned forward to engage him. Yondu felt his brows furrow as her hair fell around her sad, but determined face. She was pretty. It was no wonder Ego picked her. “ Tell me about him…” She intoned. The crack in her voice caused a crease in his forehead.   
“ Please. Tell me about him.”   
Despite his better judgement on the state of her emotional stability, Yondu caved.


	7. Understanding

Peter had been trouble as a boy, but then again it could have been the fact that Yondu was inexperienced. Had had in no way been prepared to take the responsibility on. It showed often and thinking back on it now he found himself cringing. He had not been a good parent and though others might blame it on his own lack of parenting, or the way he had been raised, Yondu would never put the blame on anything beyond his short temper and his youth. It had taken him too long to realize it too. 

Peter probably fed on that too. Yondu was almost certain he’d spent a large portion of his youth making as much trouble for the Captain as possible just because they butted heads. It tested him, and Yondu had not always acted properly. He was ashamed to say so. The kid did try hard though, when it was asked of him. The tantrums. The long nights spent awake. Sicknesses. Frustration. 

If he were to be asked if there was something he might do different, Yondu would only say he would right try to be more patient. Try to be less irritable. Nicer. Maybe then Peter wouldn’t have left them. Everything he had done, had been in an effort to harden the boy to the life he was going to live. A Ravagers life wasn’t easy. The Galaxy wasn’t nice or forgiving. Peter had grown into a strong man. A better man than Yondu Udonta would ever be. He was proud of that at least. And he was glad that they’d parted on good terms this time. 

The time passed slowly, and sitting there telling her about the boy she hadn’t met, Yondu found peace. Peter would be alright. Things had been forgiven. At least he hoped they had. Now he was out there saving the Galaxy. 

He really didn’t know how long they had spent there sharing stories. Okay, He told stories. She like that Peter had saved the galaxy. Not once, but twice. That was the type of man she would have wanted her son to be. Meredith finally stood and for the most part she looked a little more subdued.  
“ Please,” she intoned, “ rest as long as you need…”  
As she retreated to the door a thoughtful look settled on her features.

Yondu, now alone, eased himself back onto the bed. He was still achy even a good stretch didn’t seem to ease that feeling away. Must have been a side effect of coming back from the dead. This place was not home. That much was certain. No ego. Instead her lover was Json. Peter didn’t exist but for soured memory. Meredith was alive. This was something he had heard of only in stories. 

An alternate reality. A completely different dimension. He didn’t understand how that worked but he could assume it had everything to do with that hooded woman. There was a lingering curiosity that sat heavy in his chest. What else was different? Were there Ravagers out there? What about those gems everyone seemed to want so badly? Worse yet, how was he going to get off Terra?!

Yondu drifted heavily off into another exhausted sleep with all those thoughts swimming in his head. It was a sure guarantee for nightmares. They certainly didn’t disappoint either. From the last moments with Peter, to the power those gems had. He even dreamed about Ego finding him here. Silly as that was. It was a vicious cycle. 

When he woke it was because he’d smelled something sweet and his stomach chose to remind him that he had not really had much to eat lately. Rosey light spilled through window and pooled across the bed. The Captain’s eyes traced lines across the ceiling for a moment before he sat up. Dust motes swirled in the near still air were the light cut its path across the floor and up the wall. For a moment he sat still, soaking up the warmth from that light. Spending most of your life on a ship, in the dark of space, it became a rare treat to enjoy any sort of sunshine. The artificial light cycle in his quarters on the Eclector couldn’t compare. 

After a good few minutes, the red eyed xenoform let his shoulders fall forwards a little. His attention turned towards the small bedside table. There, neatly situated on a little white plate was the source of the smell. A roundish pastry, still warm to the touch and aromatic with things he could not name even if he wanted to. It seemed harmless enough but that did not mean that the Centaurian didn’t approach with caution. The white substance dripping across it seemed a questionable stuff. Sticky too. He frowned when it stuck to his fingers and sniffed at it. Swiping it against his tongue he was pleasantly surprised at it’s sweetness.  
Yondu did not often indulge in sweets, so he dug into the soft roll eagerly.

It was a shame they never really had this sort of stuff on the ship.


	8. Contemplations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> // So sorry this took so damn long ya'll

Yondu had quite shamelessly taken to Terran foods when he could get them. He readily blamed that on Peter of course. Any chance the boy got he’d readily snatched up anything from Terra in terms of food. He still had a soft spot for beasties, but whatever this was called was just as good. By the time he had finished he was fully awake. 

The ruby eyed Ravager knew that his life over the next few days would be nothing but work. A variable mess of experimentation in things he probably knew very little about. Sure he fiddled here and there in things, but was that minimal knowledge really going to get him off this planet? It seemed a bleak venture.There had to be a way off this planet. The whole task was only made exponentially harder by his appearance.   
That meant his choices were slim.   
As tempting as it was to just go out, he didn’t want to end up on a table getting dissected. He had survived or been resurrected or something like that. The Centaurian didn’t want to turn around and die again. Seemed a little counter productive. 

That meant his next choice was to maybe convince Meredith to help him. Even though they had come to some form of mutual respect, he wasn’t sure that would mean much in the long run. Not to mention the chances of finding what he needed to leave the atmosphere here on Terra were slim. But, if he couldn’t get free of this planet, he would live the rest of his life a hermit. The hooded woman had told Yondu not to squander the chance, and the Ravager didn’t plan to. The best bet was likely some sort of radio signal. Surely there were Ravagers out there close enough to get a signal.   
With that in mind, Yondu roused himself from the comfort of the bed. Days off were rare on his ship, rest was even more so. As tempting as it was to linger just a moment longer, the Captain moved from the room. Sleep hadn’t been terribly kind, but the Centaurian felt at least a little better. 

The window looked out over the field of golden tassels he had woken in. Looking hard enough, it was fairly easy to see the path he had swathed through it. Whether he thought he might find a crashed ship jutting up from the earth or he was hoping to chance a glance at the robed figure again, he didn’t know. Neither greeted his line of sight though. Worse yet, with the sun up, he couldn’t see the stars. Sure the scene change was neat, but it wasn’t ‘home’. Not that home was even that any more. Hell, he had blown his beloved Eclector to bits. The second most prized object in his possession and he’d completely obliterated it. All but the Third Quadrant, and there was no real telling how it was now. Maybe they’d just abandoned it all together. Yondu relented meekly. She would have been too empty anyway.   
That thought alone drew him away from the window as if it would help clear his mind. These were things he didn’t want to dwell on. 

Four wide steps carried him to the door with enough room to spare his reach for the empty plate. The door yielded to the pull of his hand and the captain paused to listen down the hall. Voices echoes, but they sounded like a transmission rather than live conversation. Still, Yondu was cautious. There was no need for him to stumble into more trouble. So he advanced carefully until he could see into the room. 

Meredith was perched on the sofa, feet hooked heel first on the edge. Her knees were tucked against her chest. He found himself all the more hesitant to bother her.   
“ Sleep well?” that soft twang carried the small distance to him.   
There was none of the accusation left there. Blue eyes never even twitched away from the shift of images on the screen. It might have been unnerving if it wasn’t for the shadow he cast over the floor. The azure skinned Xeno moved a little deeper into the room.   
“ As well as a man with my past can…” Yondu admitted honestly.   
Nightmares were a frequent occurrence. They were especially troubling when there was something to help set them into motion. He was rather uneasy what this encounter with the Terran woman might stir up. 

The blonde hummed, turning to look his way finally. Big blue eyes in a pretty face, framed by honey colored hair.   
“I struggle sometimes too,” she told him like it would help him be a bit more comfortable.   
If anything though it made him a little unhappy. She didn’t seem like the sort to have a troubling past. Of course he didn’t take into consideration that she had told him she had lost a child, nor the effect that could have.   
Yondu sat on the empty seat next to her. Even though he had no idea what the man on the screen was talking about, he watched nonetheless. They all looked surprisingly similar to Xandareans. He still remembered the day Peter found out Kraglin wasn’t Terran. That royal blue blood was a dead give away. 

“ Yer a good cook,” he admitted. If there was a chef like her around his ship, he’d gain weight.  
“ My mother taught me,” She mused.   
It was dull conversation, but he didn’t mind. She had processed a huge amount in their last encounter.   
“ If I am going to get off this planet, I need a ship. If I can’t get a ship, I need a real strong radio signal,” Yondu told her off hand.   
Meredith arched her brow at him, “ And if there’s no one out there listening?”   
To be fair, that was just about the last thing on Yondu’s mind. There had to be someone out there who could get him off Terra. After all, she said Json was from the Stars. So even if this entire galaxy was void of all life as he knew it, a very unlikely thing, there was still a man out there somewhere named Json. At least as long as he wasn’t just a fever dream. Which by all accounts of the Captain’s knowledge of these people could have very well been the case.   
“ Then I’m shit outta luck. Not like I blend real well,” he held his hand out to demonstrate the sheer contrast between them. Truth was, he wouldn’t last long if he couldn’t figure this out. 

Now, Meredith wasn’t too keen on the man who claimed to come from another world. She was fairly sure he was just plain out of his mind. That didn’t mean that she was just going to leave him out on the street. He would never survive. Scary space pirate or not. It wasn’t hard to imagine the rather unfortunate situations he could find himself in. Science could be a cruel mistress, even when she did a lot of good. There were too many dark places too. Even if she didn’t quite trust him or believe him, the thought of some men in white coats performing a lobotomy on that bald head made her uncomfortable. 

“ The only place you will find any craft capable of space travel is Nasa. Even then they aren’t made to travel beyond our solar system. We haven’t even gone further than the moon yet,” Meredith glanced at him just in time to watch him frown. The expression made him look older than she felt he was.   
Yondu knew Terrans hd yet to advance to the point of slipspace or jump travel. He also found that the thought of trying to find a jump point without the proper lock would prove daunting.   
“ Don’t ‘spose yer boyfriend didn’t leave no crash behind huh?”   
She shook her head and the Centaurian heaved a sigh.   
Well, it was worth a try.


End file.
